Nelson Mandela speech at Harvard

     To begin his speech, Nelson Mandela starts by addressing the crowd. He says, " Mr. President, members of the convocation, members of the university, distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman". Within most of his speeches, Mandela addresses the different members of the audience. It seems as if he does it in order to signify to the audience that he is honored at the fact that they are there to hear him speak. Within Mark Antony's funeral oration for Julius Caesar, he also addresses the different members of the crowd. Antony says, "Friends, Romans, country men, lend me your ears". Mandela seems to be alluding to this introduction within his own speech. In rhetoric, imitation is an exercise where a student of rhetoric must analyze and sometimes stylistically copy an orator of which they admire. When Nelson Mandela was a student, it can be inferred that Mandela enjoyed the writing of Shakespeare because he frequently alludes to it in his introductions.  After addressing the crowd, Mandela begins an anecdotal lead-in, signifying that he is going to recite a narrative introduction. He talks about a humorous personal story that involves his age and he gets the laughter, applause, and attention of the audience. It is apparent that the reason for this type of reaction was to get the audience in a receptive mood in order to prepare them for the process of oration. Mandela also adds another story about a previous experience where a woman questioned his intelligence over the phone and hung up on him. He includes this story in order to explain to the students that people will always have a certain view of a someone, but it's up to you to have an understanding and view of yourself. By implementing these stories it is understood that Mandela is demonstrating ethos or the appeal of the author to the audience. He also incorporates both the movendi and ducere  styles into his speech. This is seen through him using real life stories in order to teach as well as inspire his listeners. Mandela displays a rhythm within his speech that stays constant. This stylistic approach furthers the attentiveness of the audience to each word said by Mandela. This refers to the term pronunciato of which deals with the orators delivery and verbiage within the speech. Mandela adds that he is honored to delivering Harvard's commencement address. He brings up the names Winston Churchill and George Washington, because they to also had this honor. Bringing up these historic leaders  names, makes him seem both appreciative as well as humble. A priority of early rhetoricians was to appeal humble before their audience. It was a stylistic tool of which presented the orator in a positive and respectful way. He uses the key component of discourse  using  persuasion to influence and ignite the minds of the graduating class in an effort for them to take full advantage of the rest  of their lives. This oration was very influential as well as pleasing to listen to. With each word he seems to inspire and lead the audience to understanding. Personally, I think his speeches are very commendable and I admire his oratorical skills immensely.